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AMERICANA GERMANICA MONOGRAPHS DEVOTED TO THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE and other Cultural Relations Literary, Linguistic OF Germany and America EDITOR MARION DEXTER LEARNED University of Pennsylvania BELIEFS AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA GERMANS BY EDWIN MILLER FOGEL, Ph.D. AMERICAN GERMAN1CA PRESS PHILADELPHIA 1915 COPYRIGHT 1915 by EDWIN M. FOGEL. Printed by J. J. Nungewer Pa. PREFACE. Part of the material of the following pages was origin ally collected and presented in partial fulfillment of the re quirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Pennsylvania. Since then the treatise has been revised throughout and much new material added. These additions consist, in the main, of parallels or cor relates which were found in various European libraries or gathered by word of mouth in those districts of Germany from which most of the ancestors of the Pennsylvania Ger mans emigrated to America. The aim of the present volume is two-fold. It is in tended primarily as a contribution not only to American Folklore but more especially as a chapter in the larger field of German American relations, the pioneer exponent of which is the present Professor of the Germanic Languages and Literatures in the University of Pennsylvania. Other considerations, secondly, have made it imperative that the general public should be interested in the book. It has therefore been deemed advisable to adopt a simpler phonetic notation in reproducing the vernacular than might other wise have been permissible. It should be emphasized that the contents of the present volume are to be regarded as a serious attempt at putting into permanent form a phase of folk-life which will soon disappear into the background and thus be irretrievably lost. This book is therefore not intended as a source of supply for those whose aim in speaking and writing about the Pennsylvania Germans seems to be to exaggerate and misrepresent. Special acknowledgment must be given to the following: to Professor Marion D. Learned for most valuable sug gestions in the inception of the collection and for that en couragement which alone comes from an inspiring leader; iii 338555 IV PREFACE. to Professor Daniel B. Shumway whose success in transla tion has made his suggestions and corrections in the trans lation of the dialect material invaluable; to Professors Friedrich Pfaff, of Freiburg, i. B., Karl Bohnenberger, of Tubingen, and Paul Hintzelmann, of Heidelberg, for special favors in the respective University libraries; to Professor Theodor Zink, of Kaiserslautern, and Mr. H. Bauer, of Freiburg, i. B., for kindly assistance in indicating where many of the superstitions were to be found; to Professor Philip H. Fogel, of Princeton University; and finally to friends and acquaintances in Pennsylvania who made the collection of material possible. Philadelphia, 1915. CONTENTS. Preface iii Introduction 1 Bibliography and Abbreviations 23 Childhood 31 Future Husband 58 Marriage 66 Dreams 74 Omens and Wishes 80 Luck and Omens of Luck 98 Omens of Death 114 Death Omens Concerning Death 126 Superstitions Connected with Death 129 Witches 138 Dogs and Cats 143 Moving 148 Homesickness 152 Servants 154 Stockraising and Veterinary Medical Superstitions 155 Milk and Butter 177 Cooking and Baking 187 Vinegar 190 Planting, Sowing and Reaping 194 Trees 208 Bees 216 Snakes 219 Weather 221 Moon 242 Signs of the Zodiac 245 Special Days and Seasons 247 Horseshoe 264 Hunting and Pishing 265 Folk Medicine and Medical Superstitions 267 Freckles 307 Teeth 309 Warts 316 Rheumatism 327 Croup 330 Convulsions 332 Whooping Cough 336 Hair 340 Sex 345 Miscellaneous 358 . . INTRODUCTION. German colonization in the western hemisphere is al most coeval with the discovery of America by Columbus. Under the aegis of the great German merchant princes, the Welsers and the Fuggers, attempts at colonization were made, before the third decade of the sixteenth century, on both coasts of South America. Welser s attempt resulted in the founding of "Klein Venedig," Venezuela, between 1528 and 1535; Fugger s along the west coast, being a failure. There were German Protestants among the settlers at Port Eoyal (1562) and at Jamestown (1607). The first German of importance mentioned in connection with the Dutch settle ments in New York was Peter Minnewit, although there were Germans among both the Dutch in New Netherlands and New Sweden on the Delaware (1638-1655). The Cre- felders came to Philadelphia on the sixth of October 1683, the most important date in the history of German emigra tion to America. It is estimated that more than five millions of Germans have settled on our shores, and they constitute one of the most important factors in American history. The second decade of the nineteenth century seems to divide these German immigrants into two great classes, the former of whom came to escape religious persecution or be cause of the devastations in the Ehenish Palatinate by the French; the latter came as a result of political upheavals in the fatherland. It is obvious that those who have come since 1818, and more especially those who followed in the wake of the 48-ers are drawn from quite different strata of society. The former settled in the country, the latter in the cities. It is those who came before 1818 who are the forebears of the Pennsylvania Germans. The immigrants settled in prac tically every county in Pennsylvania, there being twenty- eight counties with distinctively Pennsylvania German settlements before 1850. Many of them migrated from Penn- 1 2 PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN SUPERSTITIONS. sylvania to almost every state of the Union north of 36 30 , as well as Canada. The Pennsylvania Germans, as a whole, are the result of the great Pfalzereimvanderung which began in 1709-10. With these Palatines came also some Swiss, and their presence is still felt dialectally in Lancaster and York coun ties. However, the dialect of the superstitions given in the following pages is strikingly similar to that spoken in the Khenish Palatinate at the present time. In order to ascer tain whether the superstitions were extant in various sec tions of Germany, the author read them in their native dia lect to those who spoke allied dialects. It was exceedingly interesting to note the ease with which the dialect was understood throughout Baden and the Ehenish Palatinate, whereas in Swabia it was only with difficulty that the import of the material read was understood. After hear ing probably a third of the superstitions of the present collection one of the Gymnasialprofessoren in Kaisers- lautern who has devoted considerable time to dialect study remarked: "Die ganz charakteristischen Ausdriicke des Pfalzers sind in der pennsylvanischdeutschen Mundart zu finden. This statement is quoted here only for the pur pose of contradicting those who say that "Pennsylvania German is nothing but a mixture of bad English and worse German." The most striking features of the dialect as shown by the text of the superstitions are: a purely German word order; the use of prepositions with the proper case, the absence of the imperfect tense except in tense auxiliar ies, and the use of tun as an additional auxiliary of tense. The dialect student will therefore agree that Pennsylvania German takes rank with the most important dialects of Ger many and that the presence of English words does not in any way militate against such position, for, after all, the vocabulary of a people is conditioned to a great extent by environment and other potent social influences. In the present study only the more distinctive Penn sylvania German counties were taken into consideration, INTRODUCTION. 3 viz: Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Dauphin, Lebanon, Lehigh, Lan caster, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumber land, Schuylkill, Snyder and York. They cover an area of more than 8000 square miles and have a population of more than one and one quarter millions. It is very much to be regretted that the directors of the United States Census have not seen fit to take cognizance of the dialectal pecul iarities of our population, and therefore the census does not shed any light on the probable number of those who can speak a language other than English. It would seem a con servative estimate to say that more than 500,000 people in Pennsylvania alone understand Pennsylvania German and that 300,000 speak the dialect. Almost all the Christian denominations are represented in the Pennsylvania population, with, however, few Presby- terians and Episcopalians for the Reformed Church In the ; United States is the German counterpart of the British Presbyterians. In this territory there are, so far as can be ascertained, only two Catholic settlements, one in Berks and the other in York county. Schafferstown, Lebanon county, was the oldest Jewish settlement in Pennsylvania, but with the exception of the cemetery there, there are no traces left of the Jewish community. The German Reformed (Refor- mirte) and Lutherans (Luteraner) were among the first settlers and are at the present lime numerically stronger than any other of the denominations or sects. The Menno- nites (Monischte), to be sure, came earlier, but there are not very many of them except in Lancaster county. The u Arnish (Amische), also called hooker" Meimonites are one of the dozen branches of the Mennonites. The Schwenk- feldians (Schwenkfelder) and Moravians (Haerrnhuter) came before 1741. The Methodists (Medodiste) are not numerous but there are many Evangelicals (Efangelische) and the United Brethren (Fereinigte Brider or Schtrailer). Chief among the sectaries are the Dunkards (Dunker), Sev enth Day Adventists (Efretenser or Sifie Deger), River